Historical Background:

When mentioned, the Battle of Fredericksburg conjures up images of a stone wall, a sunken road, and wave after wave of desperate, yet futile Union attacks against Confederate positions. The battle fought on the northern end of the contending armies’ lines has for years been the focal point of study and interpretation of this engagement. Recently, historians and preservationists have begun to turn their attention to the southern sector, where the outcome of the Battle of Fredericksburg truly hung in the balance.

Hamilton' s Crossing
Federal Pontoon Bridge
Engraving from Battles & Leaders

Major General Ambrose E. Burnside’s Army of the Potomac crossed the Rappahannock River at three places on December 11. Two crossing sites were opposite the town of Fredericksburg, while the third was located farther downstream. Those troops that crossed at the lower site were members of Major General William B. Franklin’s Left Grand Division, with reinforcements from the Center Grand Division. Burnside’s orders for December 13 were for Franklin to assault the southern end of the Confederate line, followed by an attack against Marye’s Heights, on the northern end of the lines.

Confederates of Hayes's Brigade
at Hamilton's Crossing
Engraving from Battles & Leaders 

General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia held an enviably position on the heights overlooking Fredericksburg and the Rappahannock River plain. On Marye’s Heights, artillery covered the ground over which any Union attack would come, while Confederate infantry had the benefit of cover from a sunken road and stone wall that ran along base of the ridge. On the southern end of his lines, however, Lee did not have as impregnable a position, and there he had to build his defense in depth. Lee’s able subordinate, Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson stacked his three divisions and awaited the Union attacks.

Brigadier General John Gibbon

Following a lengthy artillery duel, Franklin’s attack got moving in the late morning. Major General George Meade’s division of Pennsylvania regiments spearheaded the attack against Prospect Hill, a small knoll dominated by Confederate artillery. To Meade’s right, the division of Brigadier General John Gibbon supported the Pennsylvanians by crossing an open field on land owned by Arthur Bernard. Confederate infantry stationed along the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad, and artillery on the heights beyond, pummeled Gibbon’s battlelines. Eventually, both Meade and Gibbon gained the railroad, thus breaching the Confederates first line of defense. Since Jackson had strength in depth, he threw fresh brigades into the holes and pushed the Unionists back, thus ending the threat on that end of Lee’s line. There, south of Fredericksburg, where Meade and Gibbon temporarily penetrated Lee’s lines, was Burnside’s only real opportunity for success.

That night, both armies brought in fresh reinforcements and strengthened their positions. Across Bernard’s fields, Union and Confederate pickets maintained watchful eyes. The following day, December 14, heavy skirmish and picket fire kept both sides on edge, while casualty figures mounted. Concerned about the wounded left between the lines, Union stretcher-bearers and ambulance personnel braved the fire to gather the wounded. An unofficial cease-fire settled over the battlefield, as the dead and dying were retrieved, often with the assistance of sympathetic Confederate riflemen.

The lines remained relatively quiet throughout the day on December15. That night, having conceded defeat and thus the battlefield, Burnside began his withdraw. By the morning of December 16, the Union army was safely on the north side of the Rappahannock River. The cost of battle south of Fredericksburg was heavy for that single day. Lee’s returns showed about 4,000 men fell on Jackson’s end of the line, while Franklin’s bill was slightly higher at around 5,000 men lost.

In 2006, the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) purchased 205 acres of what was once Arthur Bernard’s property. Dubbed “The Slaughter Pen Farm” after the war, this tract was the scene of John Gibbon’s December 13 attack and also witnessed the informal truce the following day. The CWPT has granted permission for the organizers of this event to interpret those events that occurred following the repulse of Franklin’s assault.

11th New Jersey Infantry

Marbaker, Thomas D.  History of the Eleventh New Jersey Volunteers From Its Organization to Appomattox....  Trenton, NJ:  MacCrellish and Quigley, l898.  364 p.  E521.5.llth.M37.

Dunn, Walter G., & Randolph, Emma.  [Ed by Judith A. Bailey & Robert I Cotton]  After Chancellorsville, Letters from the Heart:  The Civil War Letters of Private.  Baltimore:  MD Hist Soc, 1998.  .

Foster, John Y.  New Jersey and the Rebellion....  Newark, NJ:  Martin P. Dennis, 1868. E521.F67. See pp. 276-98 for a history of the regiment.

Koystal, K.M.  Field Of Battle:  The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas J. Halsey.  Wash, DC: Natl Geographic Soc, 1996. .

New Jersey.  AGO.  Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861-1865. Vol. 1.  Trenton, NJ:  John L. Murray, 1876. 

McAllister, Robert.  The Civil War Letters of General Robert McAllister.  [Ed. by James I.Robertson, Jr]   New Brunswick, NJ:  Rutgers UP, 1965.  .

Dyer, Frederick H.  A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion.  Vol. 2.  Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1979.  Ref. See p. 1361 (1 photocopied page)for a concise summary of the regiment's service.